Goodbye to 2022

 Goodbyes 

So many goodbyes 

Another one tonight 

I’m clinging to little things 

Hoping they help me through 

Telling myself I won’t break down

I won’t let this spiral 

I will trust that this is for my good 

And for theirs as well 

And that goodbyes 

Can be good 

But I can’t help but asking 

If maybe 2023 

Might be a year of hello’s  

If at all possible 

Hey y'all, I know it's about time for my highlights post, but I just couldn't bring myself to write it. cliff notes: it was epic because my sister got engaged to a fantastic guy, we had a great family Christmas, my mom gave me a new camera (AHHH!!! =D) and I photographed my first wedding. But then my dog, Luke, got sick and died. I've had Luke since I was eleven, and we saw each other through a lot of rough times. He'd been declining for a while, but these last two weeks of it were awful, and I still feel pretty raw. My room feels pretty empty without him. 

So with that, I'm going to take a break from blogging for a while to just rest and recover. Hopefully, it will just be for a month or so, but I don't know how long it will be. 

See you later, and happy new year!

November Highlights

This was an insainly busy month. I cannot believe we packed so much in and Decemeber is just getting busier. 

This was my tenth NaNoWriMo! Honestly, this was one of my favorite NaNo’s yet. I challenged myself to write 2k a day instead of the 1,667 words you have to, so I was able to take every Sunday off without ever falling behind. It also came a lot easier than I have ever had before. I rarely found myself at a lack of words, just a lack of time. I wrote during a lot of late nights, car trips, and between events. I also got to have a few writing parties with my sister Grace, and my friend Hannah! I came out with a complete Novella, some poetry, and a handful of short stories, including my (apparently annual now) Star Trek Fan fiction! 

I got bored one day at an event, so Rebekkah showed me some of the basics of knitting. I was amazed at how much fun I had! This probably isn’t going to become a new hobby, but I’ve had fun practicing. Rebekkah’s lets me use the end of her string a lot as long as I take it out when I’m done. I did make a perfect little one-inch square that she let me keep and that made me insanely happy. XD 

I’m not really into puzzles, but I got the Mysterious Benedict Soucity puzzle book and stayed up late after doing NaNo to finish it one night. I normally don’t stick with puzzles that long, so I was so excited when I cracked the final code and was able to get my certificate online. That was fun! 

Sarah and I finished Star Trek Deep Space Nine. It was very bittersweet because it was the last new show I had that we were going to watch together. We always have re-watching, but still, it’s not the same. Anyway, it was fun to watch together, even if the ending was not super satisfying. Now we just have to decide what show to watch together next! 

Our kitten Shadow. 

So for a few months, Rebekkah and I trained to run in a 5K. I am not a natural runner, but I had gotten to where I could run a fair bit of it and I was pretty happy about it. It had been nice and warm up until the day of the race. Actually, it had been 80 the day before, and it dropped to 40 the day of. So we drove to the Zoo with chattering teeth, and about five minutes in… I had some of the worst leg cramps in my life. So we managed to run a bit, but mostly it was walking/limping. We never figured out if it was the cold, dehydration, or what, but anyways, we still had fun. Rebekkah was super epic and stayed with me even though she could have run ahead and we got free entry into the Zoo after, so that was fun!

We decorated for Christmas over the course of a week (We have a LOT of decorations), but when the day we were supposed to decorate our tree came Sarah and Scott surprised us by coming for the evening! I had been really sad that so much of the family was gone, so it was just about the best surprise. <3 

I had to get a lot of cavities filled, so we just went in and got them all done at once. I am so grateful to have it done, and I’m hoping to never have to do that again. It was hard to chew for two weeks solid and that’s not an experience I want to repeat. On the awesome side, I now should have much less discomfort eating hot and cold foods! 

I decided to make a lot of my own Christmas presents this year, so I spent a few evenings binging crafting. One night I watched straight through Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2 while working on it. Movies and painting is such good therapy.

For Thanksgiving, we were able to get about two-thirds of the family together, which was awesome! I missed having the whole family, but we still had a delightful time. We had a lovely meal, and then just all sat around talking and catching up with each other. <3 

Us at the top of Enchanted Rock.

We have a tradition of going to Fredericksburg every year around Christmas, so we made it a girl's trip. We did some shopping, had epic Tex-Mex, and then we hiked Enchanted Rock. It was a beautiful day, and it was awesome because my mom fought her fear of highths and made it all the way to the top with us! We enjoyed the top, then got hot chocolate and looked around at Christmas lights on the way home playing a very long version of the alphabet game. Believe me, you are never too old for that game. 

Because we were prepping for our annual Christmas cookie party, Rebekkah and I spent a lot of time baking cookies. We spent one whole day baking, and so we put the Netflix Carmen Sandiago show in the background, which was awesome (we were trying desperately to finish it before my subscription ran out). We had a lot of fun, killed our feet standing that long, and managed to somehow double an already doubled recipe so we spent three hours baking those off. We took a huge plate to our community night, served them at the party, and we still have a lot. XD 

My favorite new read was The Mysterious Benedict Puzzle book, and my favorite re-read was Grace by Contract. The only book I didn't enjoy from the month was On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness. It just wasn't my style. 

Star Trek Deep Space Nine: Sarah and I finished watching through this. Overall, it was my least favorite of the three series I've seen, but I did enjoy it. Dr. Bathsheer was by far my favorite character, and I enjoyed his ending. 

Merlin: I had seen this show around for a long time so I decided to give it a try and watched the first season. It was cute, and I enjoyed the characters a lot. But the magic was a bit much, and I didn't like it enough to continue it. 

Enola Holmes 1&2: They came out with the second movie, so Kate and I watched it together. I was super impressed. The mystery kept me guessing, and the character development was amazing. I ended up re-watching them again on my own and I cannot wait until they release a third. 

Carmen Sandiego: Rebekkah and I re-watched this show. While it's not what I thought of as Carmen Sandiego as a kid, I enjoyed it, and it was very well done.  

Finding Father Christmas and Engaging Father Christmas: These were adorable. I'm a sucker for a good hallmark, but the ones that don't make you gag are few and far between. This was a sweet movie with good characters, without a lot of unnecessary drama in a lot of hallmarks. 

Aladdin: I have never seen the animation, and honestly never been interested, but after hearing a lot of the music from the live-action I wanted to watch it and was pleasantly surprised. I haven't seen a sweet, clean Disney live-action in a long time so it was comforting to know they still make them, even if I didn't agree with everything in the movie.

The Christmas Card: This is by far my favorite Christmas movie. It is just delightful from beginning to end. <3

Mcgee and Me: Classics, these never fail to warm my heart and make me want to do better. The simple conviction in these stories was amazingly well done and now I want to rewatch the whole show. 

It was a crazy month, but I enjoyed it too. How was your November?

G R E A T F U L

It’s a time for dreams

The time for thankfulness  

And family all together

It’s hard not to think

Of all that’s not here

All the people who couldn’t come

Or who never lived to make it

All the things we wanted to do

And all the things we wanted to say

But today I’m going to be grateful

Because we had them

Even for a fleeting moment

We still have family

We still have friends

I wanted to hold on to those fleeting moments

But at least I had them for a moment

And I’m grateful for every last one of them

And all the new moments that are coming

All the new dreams I get to have

It still hurts to dream

But I’m hoping that today

Marks the sunrise

And a new beginning

Not to a perfect life

But to a grateful one 

October Highlights

Well, this is a little late in going up, but better late then never, right? Thankfully October was busy, but not nearly as much as September. 

My mom went on a retreat to get some time by herself but ended up catching a stomach bug we had been passing around, so we had to go and pick her up. It was a four hour trip one way, so it was quite the day, made even longer by the fact that I got a flat tire when we got there, so we had to get that replaced before heading home. But it was good to get mom since she wasn't feeling well. <3 

I then picked up the stomach bug, but only lightly, so I just spent a couple days on the couch watching movies, and snuggling my mom. For safety sake I stayed home a whole day after I felt well, which meant I missed our churches annual picnic. That was really disappointing so I spent the whole day cleaning out my room to keep myself distracted. Thankfully I never got over it quickly, so I didn't miss work. 

I had a rare day where I went to do babysitting and the kids were all amazing. Good mood all around, fun play time. No tantrums. It's worth noting because this rarely happens. It was epic. O.o

We made it to the pumpkin patch as a girls day. I got a couple tiny ones for my room, and had a blast just going around enjoying the patch!

We got the chance to go up and spend some time with Rose and her boyfriend Stewart. Since Rose was staying over at his parents house, we got the chance to know them to, which was awesome. While we were up in the area, we got to see Michael and Liz for the first time since the wedding, and got to celebrate Michaels birthday!

As a bit of a late post-wedding wind down we found a little airbnb and spent two nights down at the beach. The bad part being, our cars transmission broke so we had to baby the car the last few miles to the airbnb, and then get it looked at, and baby it for the drive back, which made it take eight hours instead of three and a half. the good news? We had an amazing time in between. My mom had set up a little treasure hunt for us in the house, which was super fun, we got to spend our nights watching movies together. On our full day down there we set up lawn chairs right on the beach, and just read, walked, and enjoyed a chill day. I had an insainly good time doing that. It was 100% worth the crazy drive home. 

Our church participated in a Trunk or Treat, and my sister Sarah being the epic person she is put together my cars activity for me since I didn't have the time. She made a huge i-spy board, and I dressed up as Miss Frizzle, which was super fun! I had a blast hanging with the kids, handing out candy and just hanging with Scott and Sarah. =) 

My youngest niece had her birthday this month, so we got to take her out to celebrate! She wanted to walk around Hobby Lobby, so we did that for a few hours, just looking over everything, grabbed ice cream, and introduced her to the Hallmark store! 

We had to very eventful weeks in a row at my bible study, the first being a sudden storm that hit with sure force that I got drenched even while holding an umbrella. As we started driving away, we got a tornado warning, and I could barley see the road so we pulled in and weathered the worst of it in the worlds weirdest Walmart. The next week was Halloween, and I don't normally dress up, but they said anyone could come in costume that wanted to. So I pulled out my Miss Frizzle dress again, and my sister did my hair all curley this time (Using rollers for the first time was way more fun then I thought it would be). My niece was Carmen Sandigo, and was born for the role. 

Lots of new books this month! My favorite re-read was The Girl Who Could See, and my favorite new read was City fo Ember. <3 

I don't recommend The London House at all, which is sad because I love some of her other books. XP

Robin Hood Disney: This is forever one of the sweetest Robin Hood storys. It hits on all the major ledgons about him, but I think it made all the characters a bit more likable. 

Milo Murphy: Rewached a view episodes while on vacation for fun.  

National treasure 1&2: We watched this on vacation because it had been years since we had seen it. I still don't aprechite Ben's character since he is a jerk, but the movies are a enjoyable watch. 

Surprise island: I needed a soothing movie, and if you've ever watched these you'd know they are some of the most calming things. I think they did a great job adapting the book into a movie. 

City of Ember: This remains one of my favorite movies. After reading for the book for the first time, I was eager to see it again, and I think it was a great adaptation. Other then a few minor changes, it is very true to the book and I think they added some really good drama. 

Midnight Mascurade: This is an adorable hallmark. It's a gender switched cinderella story, and perfect for fall. <3 

The Chosen my mom and I rewatched this when we got sick and man, i just love it more every time. 

How was your October? 

L O U D

 

I want it loud 

Like it is in my soul 

Loud to drown out inside 

I want it screaming 

So I don’t have to  

I want it rushing at me 

I want it pounding at me 

When I feel like stopping 

I want loud 

So I don’t have to listen

So He gave me loud 

Music pounding in my ears 

Reminding me of truth 

Loud wind shoving at me 

Cooling me off in the heat 

He gave me loud thoughts 

Demanding to be heard 

And then He gave me quiet 

Where the wind had stopped 

And all the distractions were gone 

And He met me there 

In the quiet, He whispered 

And I was finally ready to listen

September Highlights

It was not an incredibly busy month. A lot of it was just spent prepping for the wedding, and getting back into the swing of fall activitys. 

It was my oldest nieces birthday this month, so we got pizza then went to Main Event. We played tons of Laser Tag, and arcades. It was a fun, long night of celebration!

So one day at lunch, my tooth just chipped off. A whole forth of it. O.o So I had to get it filled, which was uncomfortable, but not as bad as I had imagined. I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to eat afterwards for a few hours, so Sarah sat with me while my mom went and got lunch until I got to get food. <3 

The Cameron Park Zoo has hosted a running challenge for years, but this year my sister and I decided to join. So I started a 5k training program, and have actually been able to stick to it really well! I'm excited to see how the last month of the training goes. Hopefully I'll actually be able to run it. At the moment I'm still in the stage of wheezing through most of the running. XD

Our kitten, Scruffy. She's the runt of her litter, and is just about the sweetest thing. 

Bible Study Fellowship started up again. This year we are studying a lot in Kings, Chronicals, and some of the minor prophets. It's not my favorite part of the Bible, but BSF always does such an amazing job with their study's I'm excited to see how it goes. 

I got a game called Nancy Drew at Magnolia Gardens and it was incredible. It was like an escape room in a box. We had to read a lot, solve codes, and make a timeline of where everyone was. There was even a locked box we had to get into. O.o It was a blast! 

So my brother and his fiancee (Liz) were getting married up in the Dallas area, so we traveled up there for the wedding! On the way we got to go to the biggest Half Priced Books in Texas. It was so awesome! We toured Michaela and Liz's new house, and got to attend a prayer breakfast for Liz. We stayed at a lovely little house by a lake, and got to see an absolutely amazing sunset. We helped set up for the wedding, and spent an lot of time in the kitchen joking around. The day of the wedding we had to get up insainly early, so I was part of a slightly later crew that brought breakfast for everyone. We were in charge of a waffle bar for the reception, so we set that up, and then were in photos. None of us were in the wedding, so it was a little easier making time for things. The wedding was in a beautiful little chapel, and went off amazingly well. They were married! My whole family spent the next 45 minutes serving waffles, keeping things refilled, and making sure everything ran smoothly. It was hectic, but we did get amazing chocolate cake with chcoclate covered strawberries for our trouble. XD Needless to say, but the end of the reception, we were pretty tired, so after clean up, we packed up our AirBnB and came home. 

Rebekkah and I took an evening, set up our hammocks, with tikki torches, and read for an evening. It was the perfect way to chill out after a busy month. Now that it is finally cool out again we definitely be doing this more often!

No re-reads. Someone should be proud of me. XD But my favorite new book was a toss up between Findinging Gods Life for My Will and The Extraordinary Education of Nicolas Bennidict. Both epic books. 

Paddington 2: I loved this even more than the first one in some ways. Paddington is such a sweet soul. <3 

Newsies: I missed this after seeing it in person, so I had to watch it again. This music, the dancing, it's all incredible. 

Bad Hair Day: This is such a cute movie. It reminds me of the Disney movies they used to make like Radio Rebel, or Starstuck. It was cute, innocent, and a bit sappy in places. A great movie to relax with. 

Mission Impossible: If you ever see a month without MI listed, you probably need to ask after our mental health. XD 

MacGyver: This show is just fun, and it's cool to see MacGyver's ingenuity. 

Bluey: Kid shows just do not get much cuter then this. It's fun, it teaches kids good lessons, and I don't think there's much better after a long day then Bingo's little giggle. 

DS9: My sister Sarah and I just finished season six! Just one more season to go. =) 

It's crazy how fast this month went! How was your month? 

My Top Five Books This Year

 This is the last day of Five Fall Favorites hosted by the epic Kate. Big shout out to her for all the work she put into this! I had a lot of fun doing this, and getting to talk to all of y'all!

These are my top five books of the year so far. Click on the covers to go to the Goodreads page, and click on the titles to read my review!

1. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

I did not expect to love this as much as I did, but wow. It was a bit rambly in places (what classic isn't), but I loved the story and seeing how each character followed God. 

2. Happy Birthday Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty Macdonald

I discovered this series this year, and had a delightful time going through the books. This was my favorite of all of them, though. <3

3. The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart

Ah, my last book in the MBS series. This was a bittersweet read, knowing it would be the last new book in this series. But it lived up to the other four books, and I loved every page. 

4. Finding God's Life For My Will by Mike Donehey

This was one of the most encouraging books I read all year. It's open and honest, and very encouraging. 

5. Grace by Contract by Rachel Rossano

This was an awesome Beauty and The Beast retelling. The characters and everything were just perfect. And, one of my favorite things, the romance was pretty light!

Click on the photos below to get today's free ebook, and see who won the giveaway!

Well, that was a blast! I am so glad to have been able to do this. Thank you for joining me! 

What is your favorite book that you've read this year? 

Five Awesome Historical Books

Hey! Today we're here with the next to last day of Five Fall Favorites hosted by the great Kate! Today I am sharing five awesome historical fiction books. 

Click on the image for the Goodreads page, or the title for my review. 

1. The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas 

This book was one of the most incredible historical fiction books I have ever read. It helped me really see Jesus through the eyes of the time. 

2. From the Dark to the Dawn by Alicia A. Willis 

The book made me laugh, and cry, and want to read it all over again the moment I had finished. 

3. Brothers at Arms by John J. Horn

This amazing adventure takes you through the jungles of Peru, following two brothers that could not be less alike. The following series is also great, but this one will always be my favorite.

4. Interrupted by Rachel Coker 

This book is such a bittersweet coming-of-age story. I have never read a book quite in this style, and it still moves me every time I read it. 

5. Wings of a Dream by Anne Mateer

This book has always been amazing, but after quarantine, it meant a lot more to me since it takes place around the outbreak in the 1920s. The main character, Rebekah, is just about the best. <3

Click on the photos below to get today's free ebook, and enter the giveaway!

Thank you so much for joining me! Come back tomorrow for the last day! 

What if your favorite historical fiction?

Five Amazing Romances

Hey there! Welcome back to day four of Five Fall Favorites hosted by my friends Kate! Today I'm going to share five of my favorite romances. I'm a sucker for a good romance, so this was a fun list to put together. 

Click on the titles to read my full reviews, and click on the book covers to take you to the GoodReads page!

1. Love Comes Softly by Janette Oke

This is one of the purest romances I've ever read. Actually, the book is much more about Marty's relationship with God, and the romance takes the second spot to that. That alone makes the book something special, but the way she crafted the relationships with all the characters was amazing. 

2. True Devotion by Dee Henderson

No one does a romance like Dee Hendeson, and in my opinion, this is one of her best. Kelly and Joe were an amazing pair and their slow, sweet romance still warms my heart even if I know how it ends.

3. The Substitute Guest by Grace Livingston Hill

They say Grace Livingston Hill was the pioneer of Christian romance, so I don't feel like this list would be complete without one of her books. This book is one of my favorites of hers because it holds a lot of happy memories of reading it with my family at Christmas. 

4. A Name Unknown by Roseanna M. White

This book has one of the most precious romances ever. These are some of the most unique characters I've ever read, and they are so perfect with each other. 

5. Follow the Dawn by Rachelle Rea Cobb

I have read this book twice, both times I sat down intending to read a few chapters, then ended up reading it all in one sitting. You don't see many books with really quiet main characters, so this was fun to read about. 

Click on the images to enter the giveaway and get the free ebook for today!

Come back tomorrow for more! 

What is one of your favorite romances?